Importance Lies in Unimportance
by Scyithe
Summary: Forever connected are what we are. We pace forward to realize our desires... And in our desires, lie the brightest light and darkest darkness of all. Rise and fall, we'll lose it all... It is inevitable. [The Eternity Gate will be opened]
1. The Eternity Gate

**Chapter One: The Eternity Gate**

Okay… a feeble attempt at something new. This story, to sum it up, is really different from my other ones, I think. I got this weird idea of what I'm going to do and stuff. Anyway, please R and R! I love reviews.

* * *

"_Forever connected are what we are… We pace forward to realize our desires…"_

A graceful girl, no older than perhaps nineteen, was singing a beautiful melody; lips parting to allow each word tumble out in grace. Held in her slender hand was a pencil, to which was scratching against the rough paper of the sketchpad lying in her lap.

Depicted in this picture was a large group of teenagers. Standing in the background were eight people. All had their backs turned so that their features were unknown. In the front, however, stood four separate people.

One female stood to the left side, intricately drawn. She had a pretty face, shoulder-length auburn-hair tumbling down to frame it. The girl had blue eyes, glimmering with a lovely kind of sparkle. She was dressed in a pink outfit, a short pink dress ending at her thighs, pink shoes clad on her feet. Black laces curled around her ankles.

In the center stood a male, perhaps the tallest of the four in the front. He had long silver hair, some of his bangs even falling into his aqua eyes. The boy was dressed in a white vest, the areas around the zipper black, the bottom of it yellow as well as the top, a black t-shirt worn underneath. He was also wearing blue jeans and normal sneakers.

In the center, on the side closest to the girl in pink was a spiky-haired brunette with brilliant blue eyes, some of the spikes growing long enough to start drooping. He was dressed casually in a black vest, underneath a blue and red outfit. A navy blue belt hung around his waist, black pants worn underneath. A chain necklace with a crown dangling from the end hung around his neck, and on his hands, he wore fingerless gloves, large black sneakers and his feet.

Standing at the opposite side of the other female, her body turned slightly to a side, was another girl, appearing to be one of the youngest in the entire picture, perhaps. She had wavy, ebony (black) hair reaching her mid-back, visible since she had been turned to an angle, and strangely pale, ivory skin. Her eyes were a magnificent azure shade, complex with elaborate detail. She was dressed in a firm white t-shirt, two black stripes lined beside one another on each of her sides. The front of the shirt had the faint design of a key, two black stripes lining the bottom of the shirt as well. Two white belts hung around her slim waist, crossing each other to create an X shape. Underneath were her black jeans, fitting on her nicely, the legs flaring out near the ends. Lastly, on her feet, she was dressed in white sneakers.

"Mm hm," murmured the girl, stopping her singing to brush some of her silken platinum blonde hair behind her ears, hazel eyes inspecting the picture carefully. "You all are pawns in my game." A faint smile made its way onto her lips. "Especially you four… Sora, Riku, Kairi…" She paused before stating the name of the black-haired girl, her smile turning into a smirk.

"_Checkmate."_

* * *

"C'mon, Kairi!" urged a brunette, his blue eyes twinkling with amusement as one of his best friends, lagging behind, attempted to catch up. "We still have a long walk up this tower!"

"Hey, just because you and Riku are all experienced at fighting doesn't mean I am!" she retorted, slashing through a shadow heartless with ease, the Oathkeeper held tightly in her hand. When the Keyblade Riku had given her at the Castle That Never Was had finished with its purpose, it had vanished. However, when Sora gave her the lucky charm back, the Oathkeeper flashed into view. She had been its wielder ever since.

"Really? I don't think Yen Sid will be too happy," chuckled a silver-haired boy, standing at a higher location on the staircase, the Way to Dawn Keyblade slung casually over his shoulder. "Sora, why don't you help her?"

Sora sighed; the Kingdom Key Keyblade hung loosely in his grip. "Well… as much as I'd like to, Kairi needs the experience." By now the auburn-haired girl had finished off the rest of the heartless on the current staircase they stood upon, marching up to Sora.

"There. Happy, So-ra?" she quipped, grinning. Sora nodded, grinning back. The three hurried up the stairs, pulling open the door, stepping into the study of the wizard they had come to see.

"So, you have all arrived," spoke Yen Sid in his deep voice, looking up from the large, old tome he had been reading. "Another perilous journey awaits you." At this, Sora groaned, drooping.

Riku laughed. "I think Sora's had enough of these many journeys."

Yen Sid looked at him. "You are Riku, I believe?" Riku nodded. "And you are Kairi?" Kairi nodded as well. "I am afraid that you two will be compelled to join Sora on his new journey. This time, you and the rest of your friends, whether they be the King, or Donald, or Goofy, or any other comrades, will be facing an even more dangerous force than the last. Though Organization XIII has been defeated, another force has taken Kingdom Hearts into their grasp."

Kairi gasped at this. "What? Who are they?"

"They call themselves the "Greaters". Superior to both heartless and nobodies, they powerful beings, like Organization XIII, a group of these beings have been striking many worlds, including some of the many you have sealed."

"The Greaters…" murmured Riku thoughtfully. "How many of them are there?"

"That, we do not yet know of. Though we do know this: Maleficent is the leading commander of the heartless at this very moment. She works with the darkness. Some of the members of Organization XIII were somehow revived, though many memories of what occurred before have been lost. They have joined with Maleficent, merging the forces of both heartless and nobodies together to take Kingdom Hearts back from the foreign entities. These beings have created creatures of their own, spawning from an indefinite element. They are called the Lessers."

"But why? Why are they doing this? Is this like fighting the Organization and the heartless all over again?" asked Sora, curious.

"Their goal, concluded by the King, is to enter another universe containing only several worlds, through a gateway by collecting certain things, and there, open a door leading to boundless, immense power. Much like Kingdom Hearts, only, this door contains much more power than Kingdom Hearts. We call it the "Eternity Gate"."

"What would these "things" be?" questioned Riku. "If we can find them first, then it would be impossible for them to open to open the Eternity Gate."

"In prophecies created by multiple worlds, it is inevitable that the Eternity Gate shall open. However, the question is, _who_ will be the one to open the gate and received all this power," answered the elderly mage. "They are not things, but, humans, like ourselves. They too wield Keyblades. We call them the "Keys of Eternity". In total, we are sure that there are eight. Each controls a different element, some may be stronger than others, but nevertheless, they are the keys."

"What are the elements?" piped up Kairi, interest piqued.

"We are unsure, though we already know two of them. The first is the key of light. The other is the key of darkness. They are the most important of the keys, and are supposedly the most powerful. These keys are the only ones we are sure about where they reside."

"Where?"

"Right within this room."

The trio jumped. Sora chose to speak up again, swallowing the uncomfortable lump that was then in his throat. "But there are three of us!"

Yen Sid looked faintly amused. "I never mentioned to you that all three must be a key… The key of light is you, Sora. The key of darkness would be you, Riku."

Kairi, willing to be left out, turned to her two best friends, eyeing them strangely. Riku gulped. "Am I still-"

"No," interjected Yen Sid. "You are no longer of the darkness, though it does still linger within your heart." He turned to Kairi, as though scrutinizing the only female of the three. "The keys are not the only ones that are required to be able to step forth into the other universe and open the Eternity Gate. Kairi, this is where you come in.

"The gateway leading to the other universe is not easily accessible. It is heavily guarded by creations and messengers of the creators of everything, and to even get to the Other Universe, you need _another_ key." Kairi gasped.

"So I'm the key to opening the gateway to the Other Universe? Then they have to open up the Eternity Gate…" she whispered, almost in apprehension. Sora patted her on the back awkwardly.

"Yes. Now, in order to open the Eternity Gate, yes, you need all eight of the keys. However, there is one last requirement. You need Oblivion."

"Oblivion?" they chorused, confused.

"Yes. There is a human in this galaxy, this universe, which holds a strange power. In order for the eight keys to work, you need to extract the portion of their soul that is one of the eight keys. This last human then must absorb these eight portions. They will be the one to open the door. In order to absorb it, the human that has the destiny of being Oblivion must meet each of these keys. To extract the portion, the keys of light and darkness must unlock their soul, allow that portion to be absorbed, and relock their soul. This creates the true key of the Eternity Gate, Oblivion. She will be the one to open the door, along with the keys of light and darkness."

"But why do we have to open the door? We could always try to prevent it!" Sora cried, gnawing at his bottom lip nervously.

"In order to destroy it, the door must be opened. After opening it, the guardians must be defeated. They are the ones who guard the inside door. They will each give you a kind of test. Once they are all defeated, the key of light and the key of darkness must close the door with their Keyblades after hurrying out. There is no need for this power to be unleashed. If it is, havoc shall run loose."

"That makes…" Kairi sighed. "About nine people to find. We don't even have clues about their locations!"

"All you must do is search. I bid you farewell, and good luck on your journey."

The trio nodded and left the room, hiking back down the stairs to exit the tower, boarding their gummi ship.

_Rise and fall, we'll lose it all..._

* * *

She paused, finishing up the last of her drawing, before signing her name at the top left corner in lovely script. It read "Ivy". Pushing her pencil into the spiral of the sketchpad, eyes coming to rest on a drawing of eight people on the wall, all dressed in black cloaks.

"Ironic, isn't it?" came a masculine voice from the doorway, wearing a black cloak with its hood up, forbidding all from viewing his face. "To think that we have the same uniform as that pathetic group. Organization XIII, was it? The Council of Eight will triumph. The Eternity Gate will be opened... It is as good as ours. With Kingdom Hearts at our disposal, we are all powerful."

"Be patient, Sin. We must not underestimate the opponent…" murmured Ivy. "However, I am beginning to believe that yes, we will triumph…" Her gaze flickered back to the black-haired girl in the drawing she had sketched.

_"Fall into our clutches, Asuka."_


	2. Maybe Waiting Isn't Good Enough

**Chapter Two: Maybe Waiting Isn't Good Enough**

"Maybe…" whispered a voice. "Maybe waiting isn't good enough. You have to take action to actually have some fun."

"No you don't!" responded a harsher one, desperation choked in it. "Why are you leaving? Why are you leaving us – me – here? _WHY_?" The speaker was a brunette with long hair, tears streaking her pale cheeks. She grabbed hold of the boy's shirt, refusing to let go.

"Let go, Rhythm!" he cried, jerking away from her grasp to jump backwards, weapon at ready.

"Why are you using Savage Thunder? You were never like this before, Brendan!" gasped Rhythm, drawing back at the sight of the magnificent weapon. It was a golden-yellow color, lightning bolts protruding from the handle to form the hilt. The blade was shaped like a lightning bolt as well as a key, colored an ethereal shade of amber. It was held threateningly in the boy's grasp.

Brendan shook his head, turning his heel and leaving Rhythm there in the cold rain as soggy footsteps splashed through the puddles.

"I knew it…" sighed Rhythm, sliding to her knees. "That phrase… "Maybe waiting isn't good enough…" He said it again. I guess this is what happens when you want to go and see the other worlds too much…" She stood up, eyes hardening with a cold stare. "You got what you wanted!" She too turned and left the area. Nobody could tell whether or not she was still crying or not because of the rain.

Brendan didn't look back as he walked, confidently navigating through the streets. His mother was a skilled gummi ship creator. He was positive that he would be able to smuggle one of them away and leave when something caught his eye. He cursed.

"Heartless! Damn it!" Getting into his battle stance, Brendan ran forward at inhuman speed, movements fluid and nimble, as he sliced through the heartless, one after another. It was easy, but they were so annoying. He wasn't hit once by the end of the battle. Brendan smirked, sheathing the Keyblade. "There we go."

He ran through the rain again, killing Heartless as he went. Eventually, the brunette was surrounded. With a flash, he teleported out of the ring, and without moving a muscle, tapped into one of his powers, telekinesis, to send every single one of the heartless flying into random buildings. They were all killed. Those two abilities were classified as electric ones, allowing him to use them. He didn't know who did the classification, but he sure wasn't complaining.

Once all the heartless were killed, a girl that was his age approached Brendan, holding an umbrella. "Excuse me, sir, but are you okay?" She was flirting with him, he could tell. Fluttering eyelashes? Check. Seductive pose? Check. Sweet voice? Check. He almost smirked. He knew he was handsome, even when he was soaked to the bone.

"No thanks," he answered coolly, turning around to leave. He could imagine the look of horror on her face. Ouch, _rejected._

* * *

"What is this place?" asked Sora, staring out the window at the world before them. "I don't think I've ever seen one like this… so dark and gloomy…"

"Well, we won't know until we look, will we?" asked Riku, stepping forward into the world transport. "C'mon!" As Sora and Kairi joined them, they disappeared in a flash of light.

Appearing in some strange place, they looked around. The room was filled with… gummi blocks. It was so crammed they were barely able to make their way to the counter.

"Hey, is-" Sora began, when he heard a noise that was a half choke, half gasp. "Who's there?" he then demanded, leaping over the counter to pull open the backdoor, walking through.

There, paralyzed in his tracks, was a boy.

"What do you want?" he yelled, jumping forward at them. Appearing in a flash of light was his golden Keyblade. Sparks flew as it collided into the Kingdom Key. Riku and Kairi quickly joined the fray.

Brendan gritted his teeth. Not so good. Three against one, and all three of those weirdoes had Keyblades as well. Shaking his head, he dodged a slice from Kairi and teleported behind her, whacking her with the hilt of the Keyblade hard. Groaning, she fell over, unconscious.

"Watch who you bring in your party, idiots!" he shouted, whirling around to counter Sora's blow. Pulling away, he ducked underneath it, whamming the blunt side of his Keyblade into Sora's side. The boy gnawed at his lip and elbowed Brendan on the head.

Stumbling backwards, he ran towards Riku, intending to slash at him, but the blow was parried. Riku knocked his Keyblade away, smirking as he stepped forward to deliver the finishing blow. Brendan sneered and teleported to his fallen Keyblade, snatching it from the ground. Pointing it at the two stunned boys, he smirked.

A stream of electricity issued from the end of the blade, sizzling as it made its way towards them. Suddenly, as though snapping out of a trance, Sora ducked while Riku deflected most of the stream with his Keyblade. However, both were still stricken by the electricity. Brendan leered when the acrid smell of burnt flesh hit his senses.

"Bring it on!" he yelled, charging forward in a brutal attack.

* * *

"Well, what do you expect, Number Three?"

The Sub-Zero Calamity scowled, turning away from the taller being. Crossing her arms, she responded coldly, "Heh. Manipulation is the key aspect in battle? You expect us to crawl onto our knees and beg like pathetic idiots?" She snorted. "I should wring your neck for stating the obvious, Sherlock."

"Viper, cease your verbal persecution on Zane," ordered a new voice, another male entering the room. "You waste too much time bickering with Number Seven."

Viper spun around to face them, eyes narrowed in a glower. "Heh, Ichiro. You interrupt yet again. Do you not realize that you are a lower rank than I?"

Ichiro's lip curled smugly. "That does not give you the ability to issue me commands, nor does it force me to respect you."

"He's got you there," sniggered Zane, body shaking with silent laughter while Viper mentally seethed and fumed. The Savage Crusader leaned against the wall, soon silent and unmoving. Viper glared at them both.

"Silence, fools."

"Ah, having another fight again?" chortled another voice, a teenager, younger than them all, twirled into the room, blonde hair dancing around as she did so. "Viper, you in another argument with Zane?" The girl burst into laughter.

Viper grimaced. "Be quiet, Mizuki." The others continued to laugh.

"How is progress, Ivy?" questioned the girl, whirling around to look at the other blonde.

"I am sending my minions after the girl. Do not pressure me," hissed Ivy, who was illustrating in her sketchpad at an inhuman pace. "Everything is accurately planned. All shall work out, and we will reign victorious!"

"If you insist," shrugged Mizuki, turning back to the others and following them out of the room. She guffawed. Viper and Zane were still bickering.

"Shut up!" she shouted at the two. They both winced at the volume of her voice before silencing themselves. She smiled. Good. They knew how dangerous she could get when her temper was high. Mizuki didn't like getting ticked anyway.

* * *

"No!"

Brendan was hit with such a force that he began skidding backwards, eventually slamming into the other wall. Panting heavily for breath, he slowly looked up to see Riku coming in for another attack.

He held up the Keyblade, effectively parrying the attack, before shoving it out of Riku's grip with sudden force. He took this time to begin attacking Riku.

"Thundaga Onslaught!"

Brendan sliced repeatedly at Riku at an inhuman rate, the assault unbearably painful. The platinum haired boy winced with every attack, but did not cry out. Electricity crackled and hissed as it was released from the Keyblade.

"Hey, eat this! Blizzaga!"

He turned to meet end up with a face full of ice, numbing and freezing his skin. Shards of ice dug into his eyes, making the brunette yell in pain, collapsing to his knees, eyes held over his eyes. Tears of blood escaped.

"Riku!" yelled Sora frantically, throwing the Way to Dawn to Riku, who caught it just in time to parry Brendan. His eyes widened in horror when he caught sight of the other boy's. They were red, bloody tears streaking his face.

"Freaky?" whispered Brendan, anger evident in his tone, and he sent Riku colliding into the opposite wall, the cracking of bones snapping at their ears. Sora, angered that his friend had been hurt so badly, shouted, "Firaga!"

"Thundaga!"

A fireball had erupted from the end of Sora's Keyblade, rushing towards Brendan, only to be destroyed when lightning thundered down from the sky, breaking through the ceiling to destroy it. Seconds later, they were attacking each other, head on.

Brendan wasn't sure what had triggered the fight, but he knew it was getting bad. They had all done a decent amount of damage to each other… now what was going to happen? Shaking his head, the boy slammed his Keyblade into Sora's, sending it flying feet away from where they stood, through a hole in the wall that had been created by the stream of electricity Brendan had summoned.

"Why are you doing this?" yelled Sora. "We haven't even done anything!"

"Shut up!"

At a hit, Sora was knocked over. Stepping over to him, Brendan pointed the end of his Keyblade at the other brunette's neck.

"I win," he breathed. "Checkmate."

Not knowing that there was another presence behind him, they smacked him with the blunt side of their Keyblade harshly, knocking Brendan out. She reached out a hand to Sora.

"Thanks, Kairi," said Sora gratefully. "I don't think he would have held back in killing me."

"No problem," she said, smiling. "I got the least damage though… he knocked me out in the beginning of the battle. At least I proved _some_ use…"

"So, we found the key of thunder, right? One of the keys?" came Riku's voice. He looked slightly dazed and battered, but other than that, he was okay.

"Y-"

"HOW _DARE_ YOU! ENTERING MY GUMMI SHIP SHOP AND DESTROYING IT? I'LL HAVE YOUR NECKS FOR THIS, I TELL YOU! HOW _DARE_ YOU!"

They winced from the high volume and shrillness, before turning around to see a woman, red in the face with anger, glowering at them. If looks could kill, the three would all be dead. They exchanged looks of nervousness.

"Uh-oh…"

* * *

Waaaaaaaaah... This chapter sucked like -insert rather colorful word-. I'm sorry to you fellow readers, but if you got a bad impression from this chapter, continue reading anyway! I promise that future chapters will be better than this junky one! Thanks. REVIEW!


	3. A Heart for an Ally, or is it Enemy?

**Chapter Three: A Heart for an Ally... or is it Enemy?**

"…Ugh… What happened?"

Brendan sat up, his head throbbing with pain, before he recalled the memories. "Oh. Jeez. I was beaten up by three idiots." Clutching his head, he groaned, falling backwards again. The door creaked open.

"Are you okay? Sorry about the fight."

He rolled over to face his visitors and saw the three he had fought with a few hours ago. "You!" he screeched, pointing at them. "You won't kill me without a fight!" he yelled, before silencing himself from the excess pain he felt because of his outburst. The female of the group sighed.

"We're not here to kill you. In fact…" She explained the entire story about the Eternity Gate. To their surprise, he was not taken aback by it. In fact, he seemed rather calm about it. Then, as though realizing that he wasn't being astonished, began acting stunned. "Now you understand? You started the fight anyway."

"Psh," muttered Brendan. "I couldn't care less. Besides, you're the one who got knocked out in the very beginning," he pointed out, smirking. She smirked right back at him, mocking a haughty voice.

"Ahem, but psh, _I'm_ the one who knocked _you_ out at the end," she retorted just as cockily. Brendan gritted his teeth.

"Shut up," he hissed at them, summoning his Keyblade in a flash of light. Then he was stricken by what felt like a gummi ship block. It was really _hard_. He yelled out in pain, and glared in the direction of where it came from.

"Brendan! Don't you dare attack those children!" scolded his mother, who glowered back just as hard. He slumped backwards in defeat, glaring at them all. "Now, introduce yourselves and have fun!" she smirked, and walked back out, shutting the door behind her.

"I'm Brendan," said Brendan coldly, crossing his arms. The three other Keyblade bearers introduced themselves as well. "How come my mom isn't killing you since you wrecked her gummi ship shop?"

"Because," replied Riku icily, knowing that he and that boy just didn't get along, "we explained that _you_ were the one who initiated the fight."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," muttered Brendan, getting out of the bed, hissing in pain as he did, but didn't bother to try to heal himself. Being nice, Kairi cast a Curaga and healed him. She scowled when he didn't even thank her. "About this "Oblivion"… you want me to help? Fine."

They breathed out in relief. Good. He agreed to come with them.

"Let's get going. You've been healed, haven't you?" asked Sora. Brendan nodded. Judging by the look in his eyes, it seemed like he was forcing himself to be nice and polite. "'Kay. Let's go." He turned, and began walking towards the door again, the others following. They exited both room and building, striding through the dimly lit streets.

They were confronted by the heartless, _again_.

The black, ant-like creatures were easy to kill with Brendan's help, but another problem came along in the shape of short, winged bat-like creatures, sharp fangs poking out of their mouths. Bound around where their eyes should have been was a black blindfold, red eyes glowing from behind them. Mostly, the bat-like creatures were a dull gray color. Their claws and talons were brandished rather sinisterly.

"Lessers," breathed Sora knowingly. "Sent here by command of the Greaters, probably to take you, or us." The last part was directed at Brendan, mainly. The boy gnawed at his bottom lip.

"They won't take any of us!" he shouted, and lunged forward in a swinging frenzy, striking many of the creatures simultaneously. To his distaste, none of them died yet. It took more than that just to kill any of them.

Brendan sighed, and directed his focus onto all of the Lessers surrounding the group and tapped into his telekinesis. All of them went flying in different directions, smacking into random objects. "Thundaga Onslaught!" He fought so quickly that his figure was blurred as he struck the Lessers, slowly realizing that they weren't as strong as everyone believed them to be.

"Well, if that's the case," he muttered. "We should kill them quickly."

He resumed fighting.

* * *

"We still have to find the other keys to the Eternity Gate, correct? We have located two of the keys and the key leading to the Land of Promise. How goes for the capture of Oblivion?"

"Did you already forget, you fool? Our plan was to send our little friend after her. He'll take something very precious from her… the Keyblade bearers, even after they find her and get her to absorb the portions!"

"Whatever. At least we have one of the keys on our side. He's the one to go after Oblivion, remember? You're the imbecile. So shut up."

"Silence. Ivy has already sent some of the Lessers to go after Oblivion."

"No. The Lessers failed. Someone found out and set up some kind of shield around the girl that repels the Lessers. They cannot approach her."

"…That sucks."

"Talk about it, Sherlock."

"VIPER!"

"Heh. Idiot."

"Where's Sin?"

"He's currently out doing something."

"Checking on Kingdom Hearts, I presume? You know, it barely even matters if we hold onto Kingdom Hearts. That thing, even if it falls into the hands of someone else… they'll never surpass our power."

"Agreed."

"Wrong. Overconfidence is your downfall. Do not let your guard down."

"Whatever. Our little friend… he's located Light, Dark, and the key to the Land of Promise, right? Along with Oblivion?"

"Yes. It's only a matter of time before the plan will be put to work."

"Excellent."

* * *

_"In you and I, there's a new land…"_

There was a pause as they listened before their expression changed to that of a smile.

_"Angels in flight…"_

"Maybe…"

_"My sanctuary, my sanctuary, yeah…"_

"Maybe…"

_"Where fears and lies melt away…"_

"Maybe it's time to leave…"

_"Music in time…"_

"I'll go and seek my own destiny. Fate won't control who I am. I'll leave this sanctuary… I'll leave the Land of Promise and seek assistance from the Keyblade bearers. _I WON'T BE CONTROLLED!_"

The music was gone.

It was silent as she suddenly burst into action. White wings burst from her back, and she was gone in a flurry of feathers.

Kira was gone.

* * *

Panting, Brendan sighed with relief as he finished the last of the Lessers. Near him were Sora, Riku, and Kairi, all breathing heavily as well. "C'mon! We have to go before more come!" cried Sora, taking the lead. He ran after the others, slowing reaching a gigantic pair of doors.

Brendan frowned. The Lessers were surrounding them. Using telekinesis yet again, he made them all fly backwards, away from them while the others pulled the door open. Sora cried out his name. He turned around, and ran out the open doors just in time.

They slammed shut behind him.

Staring with interest around at the strange place he was in, Brendan couldn't help but feel strange. Had he traveled in one of these before? Huffing, he plopped down on a nearby chair, gently closing his eyes to take a little rest. Some crazy chipmunks were busy navigating in the front. He suddenly remembered something.

"Oh, yeah. The mission. Well, nice job, Brendan. You're the best actor in the universes." Brendan gave himself a mental pat on the back. "I have their trust now."

Telepathy this time. He used it to tell, by minds, who everyone was without looking at them. Then he found who he was looking for. Smirking, Brendan used a little bit of mind control power he learned a while ago. He implanted a command in the silver-haired boy's mind.

_Go to the room outside the cockpit._

It worked. Moments later, Brendan heard someone coming (Sora and Kairi were still in the cockpit). Hiding his smirk, he grinned when the boy opened the door, and entered. He summoned his Keyblade, and taking Riku by surprise, knocked the other boy against the wall.

"What are you doing?" shouted Riku icily, struggling. Brendan held him in place with his telekinesis.

"I came for this," said Brendan, smirking.

He plunged his hand into Riku's chest and pulled out a fragment of a heart.

* * *

Oooh, the suspense… what will happen next? Such a big twist, isn't it? –Nods to fellow readers- Review, and I shall review what Brendan is doing and why he is doing it!


	4. Keyblade of the Four Essences, Arcadia

**Chapter Four: Keyblade of the Four Essences, Arcadia**

Riku screamed out in pain. Who wouldn't, if someone just took a fragment of their heart straight out of their chest? Blood blossomed from his body, and he limply fell onto the ground, unmoving. But he was still conscious. Brendan knew that.

"Surprised?" he hissed, staring at the heart that he clutched in his hand. It was just like any other, but instead of being completely, it was a tiny fragment. The heart portion was small enough to fit in his palm with immense ease. "It was all an act. Yes, I am a key. However, I work for the Greaters. I am the Eighth, the Dubious Lightning. I've already found Oblivion. She's in another world… and now, thanks to you, I can use this to take a piece of her soul."

The small heart fragment disappeared, and in its place was another Keyblade… Soul Eater. The Keyblade Riku had used when he was with the darkness to unlock people's hearts. "With this, I'll complete my mission and take a portion of her soul. You'll never be able to open the gate without that portion. The Eternity Gate is ours."

Alarmed by Riku's cry, Sora and Kairi burst through the cockpit door, staring at Brendan in horror. "What did you _DO?_" screamed Kairi, dashing over to Riku. The other boy shrugged and smirked at her and Sora.

"Need an explanation? How 'bout you ask dear Riku? I'll be making my escape now…"

Brendan rested the Soul Eater on his shoulder, opened a portal, and jumped through. It closed too quickly for anyone else to enter.

Sora swore, and hurried over to help Riku.

* * *

Silently, tears poured down the sides of her cheeks, the door silently closing behind her. She was never going back. Ever. All the girl could recall were those memories, piercing into her skin like shattered glass shards. Her face was covered in blood. In fact, her whole body was covered in the substance.

She finally knew why her father didn't want her to attend the academy – the magic and fighting academy – that everyone went to. If she were to hone her skins, she could give him a piece of her mind.

Azure eyes, glimmering with unshed tears, blinked them back. She wasn't going to cry.

This had all started five years ago, when she was eight-years old. It had happened so fast. A disease called tuberculosis had taken her mother's life. Her father had believed it was her fault she died since they didn't have that too much money, definitely not enough money to take her mother to the hospital. She had tried to save her mother, even entered a fighting competition to earn an immense load of munny, and though she had no experience with swords, won. That night, she had ran home, pulled open the front door, and ran up the stairs to tell her mother the wonderful news.

She was too late.

The girl had found her mother, eyes closed, body limp, in bed. The lady was not breathing. Her father was staring at her with glossy eyes, ones that were holding back tears. In anger, he had stomped over to her, and shattered a nearby flower vase on her head. She cried so much, locking herself in her own room. Ever since that, her father had taken to beating her and yelling at her until his throat was sore. The worst part of it was that since she had been so harshly the second day since her mother's death, her lungs were seriously injured. She had been coughing up blood everyday since then.

But it was time to let go of the memory. She was free. She was out of that place.

The girl stifled of sob, thinking of good things. She pulled out an elixir she had fortunately stolen from a cupboard, downing it. Her wounds healed, though it did not erase the lingering pain that had been received from the wounds, plus the massive sting in her chest. The blood still remained on her body. A shadow loomed over her just then as she stumbled into an alleyway.

"Are you all right?"

She looked up; staring at the source of the soft, mature voice. Long blonde hair framed the handsome boy's face, reaching around his shoulders. His face, with delicate eyebrows, a perfectly carved nose, finely chiseled cheekbones, stared down into hers.

"Y-yes," she rasped, voice hoarse from the lack of usage. "W-who are you?" she asked, stumbling a little backwards, only to have her hand grasped by his and led away from the alleyway.

"I'll tell you later. Right now, we have to get you cleaned up. I've never seen someone so hurt…" As they dashed past various buildings, the girl took a look at herself, murmuring in response, "He went easy on me this time though…"

"No," answered the boy. She blinked in confusion. "Not that. Your eyes." Without waiting for a response, he continued, "They look anguished and dead without life." He suddenly stopped, swearing as a circle of strange creatures surrounded the two. The creatures were jet-black, wobbling back in forth almost drunkenly, antennas sprouting from their heads. What peeved the girl most were the sight of their glowing yellow eyes, instilling raw terror into her very person.

The boy, obviously a graduate from the academy, summoned a blade in flash of light. It was a blood red, two feathery wings arching together to form the hilt. Dangling from it was a feather-shaped key chain. The blade was sleek, ending in what looked like a head of a bird with sharp feathers, a large wing protruding the side to give it a key-like shape.

He smirked, the dangerous weapon held viciously in his grasp. "Phoenix Firestorm… we're ready to dance!" Slamming the weapons into the ground, the ground burst into an explosion of fire, burning all the shadows away.

The girl stood there, watching in awe, finally recognizing who he was. "You were that boy… you threw the final match in that tournament for my mother…"

He straightened, the weapons disappearing in another flash. "Yes. Finally recognized me, eh?" He smiled at her. "But your mother… she died anyway, didn't she?"

The girl bowed her head. "Yes… That's why I'm like this. My father isn't proud of the fact that she died. He loved her very much."

"I see…" he murmured. The fire began subsiding, fading away from view. "We have to get away from here before more of these shadows come. They've been coming here repeatedly, probably for the princess…"

"Huh? You mean Her Majesty, Princess Yumiko?" asked the girl, her gaze momentarily flickering toward the tall castle that stood majestically on the side of the village, large iron gates standing around it in a protective way.

"Yes. They're after her for some reason, probably because her heart is so pure. There are more shadows at the castle than ever. That's why most of the adults are missing. Come on!" He seized her hand, and they ran. She felt free, able to stretch her legs and move. Surprisingly, she discovered that though she was unskilled, she was able to run as fast as the boy's current pace. Stopping before a large mansion, he stabbed one of his key-like weapons into a lock on the door, ushering her in before closing the door behind him, locking it once again.

"The mansion…" she murmured quietly, staring in admiration at the beautiful furniture surrounding them.

"C'mon. One of the maids can get you cleaned up…"

She followed him up the stairs.

* * *

"Thank you…" the girl mumbled gratefully, smiling, as soon as he came back into the room after the maid had left. "By the way…" She turned to the boy, azure eyes twinkling with thanks. "What's your name? I didn't catch it before…"

"You already forgot?" he chuckled, amusement evident in his tone. "My name is Takuya. Don't forget it." She nodded her head violently, hair flapping to and fro. "Good to know that you're all cleaned up now. The sight of blood kind of peeves me." The blonde walked to the door of the room, turning the doorknob and pulling it open.

"Stay here. I'll be back," he commanded, exiting, closing the door quietly behind him.

The girl leaned back, sinking comfortably into the soft velvet feel of the cushion, adoring the lovable touch, all the while thinking. "Those creatures… they're…"

_They are the heartless._

Alarmed, she shot up from her seat, looking around warily with eagle eyes. "W-who's there?" she demanded, fear interlacing her voice. It sounded choked up with terror. The voice chuckled.

_Do not fear me. Go to sleep._

"Wha…?" she asked to no one in particular, confusing sweeping through her very being. However, a strange sense of fatigue wrapped its tendrils around her. She dropped backwards onto the bed in a dead faint.

The door then creaked open, Takuya walking in once again; his key-like weapon held at ready as though suspecting that one of those shadowy creatures would attack them again. His gaze flickered to the unconscious girl lying on the guest bed. "Hey! You okay?"

He dashed over to her, immediately groping for her hand to check her pulse. It was still there, beating at a normal pace, none too quickly nor slowly. He sighed with relief. "Must be tired from all the events happening… after all, life was never too good on her…"

* * *

"Where… am I?" whispered the girl, staring down at the stained glass platform she stood upon. The platform seemed to completely defy physics. Why was it floating in the air? But then again, anything could happen. Four rays of light beamed down before her, one beside the other. Forming in mid-air were four weapons, all in the center of each ray of light. She glanced towards the sword at the left.

_Power. Strength. Warrior. Do you select this path?_

She immediately shook her head in horror and stepped into the middle, where a shield was.

_Protection. Defense. Guardian. Do you select this path?_

Again, she shook her head. A shield didn't seem to feel right… Walking towards the staff, she paused and stared at it in wonder.

_Mystic. Magic. Magician. Do you select this path?_

The girl thought over this option, before deciding that she did not want it and walked away to the last weapon. It was more like an accessory however. The "weapon" was merely a necklace with a key charm attached.

_The path to the unknown… Power unexplored. Your destiny intertwines with that of many others. You shall be the key to all. Do you select this path?_

The girl nodded. There was a flash of light, and the necklace exploded into particles, flying towards her to seep into her skin. She glowed slightly, before the glow subsided and a weapon flashed into her waiting hands. She gasped at its appearance.

With a length of about four and a half feet long, the weapon, like Takuya's, was shaped like a key. The handle was an eerie gray, one bat-shaped wing seeming to protrude from one of the sides, a demonic jet-black, horn jutting from the very edge. From the other side protruded a white wing, nursing a feather-like texture while the bat wing had a scale-like one. The two wings curved to finish the hilt, giving her a perfect grip on the weapon. The blade, which seemed to begin at the handle, passing through the middle of the circular shape created by the two wings. It was a gradient of black, gray, silver, and white, each color slowly fading into each color in that order, starting at the blade-area near the bottom of the handle. Crossing the blade was another, a quarter of it sticking out on one side of the blade, while the rest stuck out on the other end. The longer section of it, like the hilt, had two wings extending from it, both the bat-wing and feathery wing. They curved, though they did not connect, to finish the key look. Overall, the weapon looked strangely glossy, as though completely composed of crystal and glass.

For some reason, it reminded the girl faintly of a scythe, although it looked more like a key-shaped sword than a scythe. It was sort of like Takuya's Phoenix Firestorm blade.

_The Keyblade of the four essences. Arcadia._

"Mm-hm," she murmured. "Keyblade. So that was the weapon that Takuya had as well." She said this cheerfully; humming a soft melody under her breath when something she saw made her heart almost stop.

Three of the shadowy creatures Takuya had saved her from had emerged from the ground. Three more of some white creatures appeared at the other side, having limbs that bent in impossible directions, possessing fluid movements. They had gaping, open zippers for mouths. The last of the creatures were a dull, gray color. They were short, winged bat-like creatures, sharp fangs poking out of their mouths. Bound around where their eyes should have been was a black blindfold, red eyes glowing from behind them. Their claws and talons were brandished.

_The creatures of darkness, heartless. The creatures of twilight, nobodies. Lastly, the creatures of nothingness, the Lessers._

Keyblade held tightly in her grasp, she got into her fighting position, holding the blade diagonal near her chest. One of her feet stood behind the other, turned to a ninety-degree angle to another side, heel against heel. Her other hand grasped the end of the blade. Indeed, it was the strangest stance ever, but that didn't bother her.

Smiling, she waited for the creatures to approach. When they did, she snapped into action and lashed around, Arcadia whipping about to destroy the enemies, moving with fluid, graceful movement.

* * *

"Is Riku okay?" whispered Kairi, staring worriedly at her older friend. Sora inhaled deeply, straining to not start screaming, and bit his lip.

"I don't know… Brendan turned traitor and took a portion of his heart. I'll kill him when I get the first chance," he hissed. Kairi had never seen her friend look more angered.

"Yeah… I'll fight too."

"He _will_ pay."


End file.
